Transatlanticism

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

My life officially ended when my mom walked into the hallway. Leo and I broke apart quickly, and his hand quickly snapped away from where it had been creeping down my back. I reached up to straighten my glasses, realized I wasn't wearing them, and then let my hand drop awkwardly to my side.

            "Hey..." I said slowly, side-glancing at Leo, who looked kind of woozy. Probably from lack of air. "Mom." He suddenly stood up straight, looking nervous, as he registered that this woman who had caught us was my mother. "This... this is Leo... Mom."

            Her eyes narrowed, but she shook hands with him anyways, smiling very a fake, gritted-toothed smile.

            "Nice to meet you... Leo," she hissed the name, her eyes narrowed. "And he's your...?"

            "Uh... he's... my... friend?" I said it like a question, avoiding everyone's eyes.

            "Uh-huh," she said skeptically. "I didn't know this was how friends acted nowadays." I'm sure my face turned bright red, and I saw Leo's was red, too.

            "Well," I cleared my throat, "we went on a date."

            "A date?" Mom snapped. I saw her reasoning, of course. Only Eowyn would fully make-out with a guy in a public place after only one day. But... she didn't understand! It wasn't like that with Leo. Leo wasn't like that... "Well, say your goodbyes, Arwen, and then we're leaving, got it?" I nodded, because that was definitely the safe thing to do when my mom got like this. Talking would probably only make her irritated.

            She stormed off, as if being in the presence of the two of us was completely repulsive, and slammed my dorm door. I winced after, turning to Leo.

            "Sorry, she's usually not like that," I said quietly, feeling ashamed, embarrassed, and irritated.

            "Oh, um... It's not your fault. It's fine," he said waveringly, and I could tell he was upset.

            "No, it's not," I interjected, finally meeting his eyes. I tried to smile, to show him it was all just dandy, but it didn't really work. "Don't even worry about it, okay? She'll get over it."

            "Oh."

            And then... silence.

            What were you supposed to say now? Does anyone know? Because I sure don't.

            "I'll see you later," I decided, my arms hanging limply at my side. He smiled at my awkwardness, which made my stomach churn, and then he pulled me into a hug.

            Oh. Well. That was unexpected. Pleasant... and unexpected.

            I buried my head into his shoulder, savoring the moment while I could. He was really warm... and smelled good. Wonder what cologne he uses...

            "See you," he replied as he pulled away. He looked kinda sad, like he would miss me or something. It was endearing, and surprised me, too. Since when had anyone ever  missed me?!

            "It'll only be for three or four days," I promised, smiling crookedly. He nodded, looking at me through the lashes of his eyes. He was really sexy when he did that... I tried to clear my thoughts and get my legs to move, and thank goodness Eowyn came out then, otherwise I would've been standing there forever.